But I couldn't, and wouldn't, take it any more. I had to do something, even if it was just so I could get my personal fix! Honestly - more than any other garden produce we've ever grown, cherry tomatoes in particular are the one thing I crave from the moment the tiny fruits start appearing on the vines until well after the frost has fallen and there's no hope for any new ones for another year. I eat them off the vine like the candy that nature intends them to be. I dry them for winter storage. I freeze them for later sauce making. I even add pieces of slightly damaged cherries to sauces and chili without bothering to peel them at all! Not to mention that their naturally self-contained bubbles of Summer would be fabulous in an application as unique as Thunder Cake.
So the last say of my Summer vacation, while the [step]parentals were out, I pulled my Ninja trick once again and filled a relatiely small bowl with bright red, full-to-bursting with juice marbles of tomatoey goodness. I already had a fairly solid idea of what I would do with them too: a perfect end of the season pasta filled with bites of ever so slightly charred, roasted tomato, fresh basil (again from my own garden!) some rice-based spaghetti and a decadent knob of (fairly) local goat's cheese. And I wasn't disappointed in the least! The cheese melts just enough to meld seamlessly with the sugary-sweet, hot juices from the burst tomatoes, and together the sauce forms a gauzy blanket over a bed of pasta before being showered with a chiffonade of bright green herbage. Like the second time (in a week, no less!) that I made this recipe, it's even better if you toss a very al-dente cooked vegetable like broccoli into the pan sauce and pasta mixture and allow the flavours to soak into each other and the denser plant fibres.
I still can't believe that I was able to write this post without seriously drooling on my keyboard - just looking back at the few photos I snapped pre-bite is sending me into another craing cycle! I hope the readers at Ruth's Presto Pasta Nights round up (hosted by The Crispy Cook (AKA Rachel) feel the same!
Summer's Candy Pasta
Serves 2
10 oz cherry tomatoes
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
3 cloves garlic, unpeeled
1 tsp lemon juice
4 oz whole wheat pasta (short cuts work best, like rotini)
5-6 leaves fresh basil, chopped
3 oz soft goat cheese, crumbled
- Preheat oven to 375F, line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Wash cherry tomatoes, then toss with salt and pepper while still wet.
- Place on the sheet with the garlic and roast for 35 minutes. Remove from the oven, toss with lemon juice and set aside.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Add pasta and cook to al dente.
- Drain, reserving a quarter- to half-cup of cooking water, and return to the pot.
- Add basil, cheese and tomatoes with enough of the pasta water to make it slightly saucy, stirring well.
- Divide pasta between bowls and serve with additional black pepper if desired.
Calories: 338.2
Total Fat: 10.6 g
Cholesterol: 38.0 mg
Sodium: 165.3 mg
Total Carbs: 51.6 g
Dietary Fiber: 7.7 g
Protein: 15.1 g
Yum yum. Thanks for sending some of summer's candy over to Pasta Presto Nights! I have the same garden woes going on in upstate New York. We got blighted early on with all that damp, cool Spring weather. At least we didn't have to water our garden too much. Small consolation.
ReplyDeleteIt does sound trully wonderful. Thanks for sharing with Presto Pasta Nights.
ReplyDeleteAnd since I've been neglegent, I'll do some back reading through your blog to figure out why you've been banned from the garden.
Ours don't even make it into a dish they just get eaten fresh off the vine every day with lunch
ReplyDeleteoh wow...wish someday i would have garden like yours where endless tomatoes grow...ur pasta with veg fresh out of garden looks tempting..
ReplyDeleteThis looks gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteRipe cherry tomatoes are DEFINITELY candy-esque. I pop them as if they were gumdrops. Delightful.
ReplyDeleteThe pasta dish looks so tasty and healthy!!
ReplyDeletesounds yummy!
ReplyDelete